Ten-Pin Bowling - Overview

Ten-pin bowling is a sport where players try to hit 10 pins placed at the end of a wooden lane using a bowling ball. The pins at the end of the lane are arranged in a triangular shape by an automated machine. Based on the number of pins used or the type of bowling ball used, different countries have different variants of the game.

In this game, the players try to score points by knocking down as many pins as possible using the bowling ball. The players need to hold the ball using the three finger drills on the ball. Based on the number of pins knocked out, the player gets points. At the end of ten rounds, the player who scores maximum points becomes the winner.

A Little History of Bowling

The origin of bowling games is still obscure. British Anthropologists have discovered bowling balls in Egyptian graves dating around 3200 BC. Some historians also claim that it was originated in Germany in around 300 A.D. The first written reference of the game signals to 1366. King Edward III of England banned this game so that the troops concentrate more on archery practice.

A place in Southampton, England claims to be the oldest bowling lawn since 1299 which is still in operation. Nine-pin bowling was introduced to United States by the Europeans during the colonial era. Later on, it became very popular and is also called Bowl on the green. The first indoor bowling alley was made in New York City in 1840.

In 1895, prominent bowling leaders gathered at New York City to form the American Bowling Congress (ABC) and it started standardizing rules for the bowling game. In 1916, Women’s International Bowling Congress (WIBC) was also formed. During the 1950s, the sport’s popularity went sky high and the number of members in both ABC and WIBC increased gradually during that phase.

Night clubs as well as restaurants started introducing indoor bowling clubs all around the world. Around the mid-1960s, there were almost 12000 bowling alleys in United States.

Participating Countries

Both as a sport and as entertainment, bowling is quite popular all over the world. It is also the second highest sport around the world in which the players participate. Today there are more than 100 million bowlers in over 90 countries around the world. There is also an active movement to make bowling a part of Olympic sports. It has been enlisted in the eight shortlisted sports to be included at 2020 Olympics in Tokyo.

Some of the countries where bowling is famous both as a sport and entertainment include England, USA, Finland, Australia, Sweden, Denmark, Canada, Germany, Colombia, and Korea.